I am writing this post sitting back looking at the Loire River with a glass of wine reflecting on an awesome four days….
We left Ingrandes sur Loire with the plan of hitting the Angers market for some fresh produce and we were not disappointed. We even managed to sneak in a rotisserie chicken with potatoes cooked in the chicken juices for lunch which were just divine!
Our next destination was further east along the Loire and when we arrived we had managed to score an amazing campsite right on the river again. Absolute bliss. We had arrived with hours of daylight to spare and decided to go for a bike ride. We had glimpsed a few sunflower fields on our way in so I convinced Tim we should go back that way to see them in all their splendour. On our way there while riding on a goat track along the river we did some more reminiscing on our previous trip as we stopped along some sunflower fields then as well to get some amazing shots only for us to come back to our van on fire! So after waving a person down and getting them to call thé pompiers (French fire brigade) we had a full contingent arrive on the side of the road and proceed to dismantle our van and all our possessions. It was an electrical fire (now Tim would have all of this sorted himself!) which they put out and after thanking them profusely we were on our way again. Less a water pump for the sink and an electrical smell which lingered for a good 2 weeks 😂😂. Anyway back to today. We rode out and found our sun flowers and got our idilic shots. On the way back we stopped off at the local wine cave and tasted some amazing local wines. We had the place to ourselves and armed with a little metal tasting cup we could sample as little or as much as we wanted!Luckily we only had a few hundred metres to ride back home after sampling about 21 wines.
The next day we jumped back on our bikes to ride the vélo le Loire to Saumur and back. It started off along the river but soon we were riding up the hill into the mountains. We hit a wonderful little town with artesian caves dotted along the road. Like the cave we visited the day before for our wine tasting there are hundreds of caves that have been carved out of the limestone hills around. They’re called troglodyte caves and I must admit I have heard the term before used as a derogatory word but didn’t realise that the translation is someone who lives in a cave. Turns out all these caves that now house wine cellars and gift shops etc etc are the remnants of a time where the less wealthy locals used to live in the caves, though now very much considered a tourist attraction. They reminded us a lot of the houses that have been built in the Cooper Pedy limestone in the middle of Australia.
After leaving that little village we then rode up to a sort of Plateau and were greeted with views of rolling hills covered in vineyards. It was absolutely stunning and even though we had to climb up and down a few times we were absolutely in awe of the country side. We wound through vineyards, past old abbeys and little villages perched on the limestone cliffs. We eventually made our way to Samaur where we were greeted with a stunning Chateau perched on the side of the hill where we enjoyed our pre packed lunch. It Disney hasn’t used this chateau as inspiration for some of its princess movies I would be surprised! We walked around the Chateau and down into the old town and then started our way back towards Montsoreau.
The ride back stayed beside the river rather than ascending to the plateau but we did go up and down and through some amazing little troglodyte caves. It was one of the best rides we have ever done. Our original plan was to be stopping along the way sampling some wine but to tell you the honest truth we were both just enjoying the ride and I was thinking that if I had a glass of wine I wouldn’t have made it home! So we finished the ride and then came back and enjoyed our own local wine in our comfy chairs at the campsite. We have had some wonderful, terrific, amazing days over our time travelling, so many that I couldn’t possibly give you a top ten but this stay on the Loire has definitely made the top 50.
The next day after a bit of a lie in and maybe a little bit of a sore head we thought we would go for another ride, this one slightly shorter up into the plateau to go see an old town with an Abbey. So I am not going to lie but my legs were a little sore but we rode up the hill and were greeted with fields of sunflowers. Hard to not enjoy yourself when looking at fields of sunflowers.
We continued on up the hill towards the village of Fontevraud-l’abbaye. I must admit by the time we arrived I was hot and bothered and wasn’t that keen on walking around another Abbey but Tim is pretty convincing (he may have bribed me with icecream) and as usual he was right. It was well worth going inside and we were treated to some amazing buildings built in 1200. After cashing in on my icecream and wandering around the little town we shot back down the hill and enjoyed an afternoon of drinking beer and wine at the local bar overlooking the Loire.
We extended our stay as we were having so much fun and needed a rest day after the three epic bike rides we did. We spent that day wandering around the town, visiting some amazing street art and relaxing in our recliner chairs watching the world go by. So far the Loire Valley has been a stunner of a place to visit, particularly around the Saumur area . S
